sewlow
Bitchin' Stitchin'
HIR Headlight Bulbs
Want to get great illumination without extra heat, wiring upgrades, relays, transformers, and blue tint? Want to
SEE better at night instead of HEARING a bunch of dubious chatter about xenon-filled, over-wattage, blue-tinted
bling-bling bulbs that are supposedly "just like HIDs"? Want a bulb where you maintain the correct filament
placement for a perfect light pattern, instead of causing glare and scattered, diffused light? Want to save
hundreds of dollars over the cost of retrofitting an illegal, bootleg HID system? Then you want these Halogen
Infrared Reflecting bulbs.
These Toshiba bulbs are a unique product, the only bulbs available known to use the research technology that
General Electric patented in 2000 (patent number 6,087,775). GE sells HIR bulbs for commercial lighting and
specialized applications, but decided to stay out of the automotive market and licensed this technology to a
division of Toshiba. These are Toshiba bulbs, brand new, never used, factory direct. In fact, Toshiba and GE are
among the few companies in the world with the expertise to
engineer and build this product. These bulbs attain light levels
75% to 137% brighter than stock as a result of an engineering
process that deposits multiple, yet almost invisible, layers of
semi-reflective coating on the surface of a specially shaped and
focused quartz bulb. This coating reflects a portion of the
infrared energy emitted by the filament back onto the filament,
causing it to glow brighter and emit more light from the uncoated
forward portion of the bulb. Although the filament gets hotter,
the glass does not. IT GENERATES NO MORE HEAT THAN A
REGULAR HALOGEN BULB, AND IT DRAWS THE SAME
WATTAGE AND AMPERAGE AS THE STOCK 9005 OR 9006
BULB IT CAN REPLACE.
The mechanical dimensions of the bulb are all virtually identical to the 9005 and 9006 bulbs, but the bulb glass is
spherical instead of tubular, with the sphere centered around the filament.
Here's the comparison:
Low beam stock: 9006 12.8V, 55W, 1000 lumens, 875 hours
Low beam new: HIR2/9012(9006) 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens, 875 hours
High beam stock: 9005 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
High beam new: HIR1/9011(9005) 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours
These bulbs produce white light, rated at 3600 Kelvin color temperature, slightly whiter than the 3250K stock
halogen bulbs. They do not attempt to imitate the bluish appearance of HID (High Intensity Discharge, or Xenon)
bulbs. The blue halo of original-equipment HIDs comes from the high voltage arc of energy between electrodes,
which emits a minor amount of long-wave UV light. Putting a blue coating on a regular bulb actually reduces light
output.
So you're looking at nearly 88% light from the low beams and 49% more from the high beams. The beam pattern
will not change, but there will be considerably more light within the beam pattern.
Headlight Services
Highlands Ranch, CO 80130
www.headlightservices.com • [email protected]
303-683-1705
HIR 9011 and 9012 bulbs are exactly identical in all dimensions to 9005 and 9006 bulbs, except for two areas, the second of which is unimportant for most cars. The first area is the "center" tab on the mounting flange. When trimming, you should always look at the bulb from the back, with the plug socket facing down. This prevents trimming in reverse, where you look at your old bulb from the front and then trim your new one from the back. There are 3 mounting lugs on the circular base flange, the ones that fit into the slots in the housing and then rotate home. The ones at 4:00 and 8:00 are large; they are the same on all bulbs and don't get trimmed. It's the center or top ones, at 12:00, that you trim.
On a 9006 low beam, the top tab occupies a space roughly from 12:00 to 1:00. On an HIR 9012 low beam, the tab is both double wide and double deep. You need to make it shorter (trim it to a smaller radius) and also remove the section from 11:00 to 12:00.
On a 9005 high beam, the top tab occupies a space roughly from 11:00 to 12:00. On an HIR 9011 high beam, the tab is the same depth as the 9005 but runs from 11:00 to 1:00. All that's needed to trim it is to remove the portion from 12:00 to 1:00.
The bulbs will come marked with white paint. You want to REMOVE THE WHITE PART. This will give you an exact duplicate of a 9005 or 9006 OEM stock bulb.
The tabs on the HIR bulbs can be regarded as universal, or blank, or androgynous. They have an excess of top tab, and it is centered on 12:00, so they could be trimmed to fit in either a high or a low housing, depending on whether you take off the right or the left side of the tab. Remove the left for a low beam, right for a high beam. Again, you're looking at the back of the bulbs with the plug down.
IMPORTANT!!! Care should be taken in handling the bulbs properly. Avoid smudging the glass surface with any dirt or your fingerprints. Surface contaminants may decrease the service life of the bulb and also result to shattering due to the high temperature. Hold the bulb only at its flange at all times. In case of contamination, wipe it off with alcohol using either cotton buds or a lint-free cloth.
On closer inspection of the HIR bulb, there is already an outline for the cutout!
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9210/imageyxi.jpg
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image009.jpg
Untrimmed HIR 9012 low beam
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image010.jpg
Trimmed HIR 9012 low beam
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image011.jpg
Untrimmed HIR 9011 high beam
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image012.jpg
Trimmed HIR 9011 high beam
The plastic on the bulbs is a little bit brittle if you try to cut too much of it at once, and it doesn’t cut cleanly like PVC would. A very good tool to trim with is ordinary toenail trimmers, the ones that are a large version of fingernail trimmers. BUT, don’t try to remove very much plastic at a time; just take small 1 millimeter bites. A Dremel tool is great if you have one. A cutoff disc at medium speed does well, although you’ll get some melting onto the disc. A hand file does well also, though it takes a little longer. Side cutters or end nippers don’t work well on this plastic.
The trimming doesn’t call for extreme precision. All you need to do is remove enough material so that the top tab will fit in its slot on the housing. If you deliberately ground it off altogether, the bulb would still fit OK and function with just the two base tabs. It’s a quick and easy job for anyone with basic eye-hand coordination, and the chance of error is close to zero.
No modification to the housing is ever required, only the bulb. Also, no modification to the electrical plug section is required for stock replacement trim.
Compared to HID.
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/122/imagennt.jpg
/\ HID's
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2776/imagegyk.jpg
/\ HIR's. Check the distance past the second light pole that the HIR's illuminate!
Phillips HIR bulbs are more efficient & 20% brighter than the first gen. Toshiba's.
With an HD wiring harness that utilizes the proper relays, the HIR lights would be even more efficient!
Probably amazing in a projector housing!
**Edit** The Phillips bulbs are labeled HIR2.
Want to get great illumination without extra heat, wiring upgrades, relays, transformers, and blue tint? Want to
SEE better at night instead of HEARING a bunch of dubious chatter about xenon-filled, over-wattage, blue-tinted
bling-bling bulbs that are supposedly "just like HIDs"? Want a bulb where you maintain the correct filament
placement for a perfect light pattern, instead of causing glare and scattered, diffused light? Want to save
hundreds of dollars over the cost of retrofitting an illegal, bootleg HID system? Then you want these Halogen
Infrared Reflecting bulbs.
These Toshiba bulbs are a unique product, the only bulbs available known to use the research technology that
General Electric patented in 2000 (patent number 6,087,775). GE sells HIR bulbs for commercial lighting and
specialized applications, but decided to stay out of the automotive market and licensed this technology to a
division of Toshiba. These are Toshiba bulbs, brand new, never used, factory direct. In fact, Toshiba and GE are
among the few companies in the world with the expertise to
engineer and build this product. These bulbs attain light levels
75% to 137% brighter than stock as a result of an engineering
process that deposits multiple, yet almost invisible, layers of
semi-reflective coating on the surface of a specially shaped and
focused quartz bulb. This coating reflects a portion of the
infrared energy emitted by the filament back onto the filament,
causing it to glow brighter and emit more light from the uncoated
forward portion of the bulb. Although the filament gets hotter,
the glass does not. IT GENERATES NO MORE HEAT THAN A
REGULAR HALOGEN BULB, AND IT DRAWS THE SAME
WATTAGE AND AMPERAGE AS THE STOCK 9005 OR 9006
BULB IT CAN REPLACE.
The mechanical dimensions of the bulb are all virtually identical to the 9005 and 9006 bulbs, but the bulb glass is
spherical instead of tubular, with the sphere centered around the filament.
Here's the comparison:
Low beam stock: 9006 12.8V, 55W, 1000 lumens, 875 hours
Low beam new: HIR2/9012(9006) 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens, 875 hours
High beam stock: 9005 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
High beam new: HIR1/9011(9005) 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours
These bulbs produce white light, rated at 3600 Kelvin color temperature, slightly whiter than the 3250K stock
halogen bulbs. They do not attempt to imitate the bluish appearance of HID (High Intensity Discharge, or Xenon)
bulbs. The blue halo of original-equipment HIDs comes from the high voltage arc of energy between electrodes,
which emits a minor amount of long-wave UV light. Putting a blue coating on a regular bulb actually reduces light
output.
So you're looking at nearly 88% light from the low beams and 49% more from the high beams. The beam pattern
will not change, but there will be considerably more light within the beam pattern.
Headlight Services
Highlands Ranch, CO 80130
www.headlightservices.com • [email protected]
303-683-1705
HIR 9011 and 9012 bulbs are exactly identical in all dimensions to 9005 and 9006 bulbs, except for two areas, the second of which is unimportant for most cars. The first area is the "center" tab on the mounting flange. When trimming, you should always look at the bulb from the back, with the plug socket facing down. This prevents trimming in reverse, where you look at your old bulb from the front and then trim your new one from the back. There are 3 mounting lugs on the circular base flange, the ones that fit into the slots in the housing and then rotate home. The ones at 4:00 and 8:00 are large; they are the same on all bulbs and don't get trimmed. It's the center or top ones, at 12:00, that you trim.
On a 9006 low beam, the top tab occupies a space roughly from 12:00 to 1:00. On an HIR 9012 low beam, the tab is both double wide and double deep. You need to make it shorter (trim it to a smaller radius) and also remove the section from 11:00 to 12:00.
On a 9005 high beam, the top tab occupies a space roughly from 11:00 to 12:00. On an HIR 9011 high beam, the tab is the same depth as the 9005 but runs from 11:00 to 1:00. All that's needed to trim it is to remove the portion from 12:00 to 1:00.
The bulbs will come marked with white paint. You want to REMOVE THE WHITE PART. This will give you an exact duplicate of a 9005 or 9006 OEM stock bulb.
The tabs on the HIR bulbs can be regarded as universal, or blank, or androgynous. They have an excess of top tab, and it is centered on 12:00, so they could be trimmed to fit in either a high or a low housing, depending on whether you take off the right or the left side of the tab. Remove the left for a low beam, right for a high beam. Again, you're looking at the back of the bulbs with the plug down.
IMPORTANT!!! Care should be taken in handling the bulbs properly. Avoid smudging the glass surface with any dirt or your fingerprints. Surface contaminants may decrease the service life of the bulb and also result to shattering due to the high temperature. Hold the bulb only at its flange at all times. In case of contamination, wipe it off with alcohol using either cotton buds or a lint-free cloth.
On closer inspection of the HIR bulb, there is already an outline for the cutout!
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9210/imageyxi.jpg
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image009.jpg
Untrimmed HIR 9012 low beam
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image010.jpg
Trimmed HIR 9012 low beam
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image011.jpg
Untrimmed HIR 9011 high beam
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stoc...s/image012.jpg
Trimmed HIR 9011 high beam
The plastic on the bulbs is a little bit brittle if you try to cut too much of it at once, and it doesn’t cut cleanly like PVC would. A very good tool to trim with is ordinary toenail trimmers, the ones that are a large version of fingernail trimmers. BUT, don’t try to remove very much plastic at a time; just take small 1 millimeter bites. A Dremel tool is great if you have one. A cutoff disc at medium speed does well, although you’ll get some melting onto the disc. A hand file does well also, though it takes a little longer. Side cutters or end nippers don’t work well on this plastic.
The trimming doesn’t call for extreme precision. All you need to do is remove enough material so that the top tab will fit in its slot on the housing. If you deliberately ground it off altogether, the bulb would still fit OK and function with just the two base tabs. It’s a quick and easy job for anyone with basic eye-hand coordination, and the chance of error is close to zero.
No modification to the housing is ever required, only the bulb. Also, no modification to the electrical plug section is required for stock replacement trim.
Compared to HID.
http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/122/imagennt.jpg
/\ HID's
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2776/imagegyk.jpg
/\ HIR's. Check the distance past the second light pole that the HIR's illuminate!
Phillips HIR bulbs are more efficient & 20% brighter than the first gen. Toshiba's.
With an HD wiring harness that utilizes the proper relays, the HIR lights would be even more efficient!
Probably amazing in a projector housing!
**Edit** The Phillips bulbs are labeled HIR2.
Last edited:
